Romblon State University’s (RSU) hiring of the municipal health officer (MHO) from Calatrava as its campus doctor has been ruled illegal by the Commission on Audit (COA), which cited a conflict of duties. 

The COA released its 2023 audit report on May 3, revealing that the university paid P220,000 to the health officer over an 11-month period.

The COA report said that Calatrava’s municipal health officer received P20,000 a month from RSU in Odiongan, an hour’s drive away. The payments were made from September to December 2022 and from April to October 2023.

“The services of Dr. Menrige Jr. as the university physician were rendered during his regular working hours as MHO of Calatrava, which was in conflict with his duties at the university,” the audit report stated. 

The COA flagged this as “illegal expenditure,” a breach of Section 7 (b) (2) of Republic Act 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. 

The law bars public officials from private practice unless legally allowed and free of duty conflicts.

Dr. Menrige Jr. worked at the university for 11 to 44 hours a month, usually from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., overlapping with his municipal health officer duties. The COA said this made his payments as a university doctor illegal. 

The RSU Human Resources Officer said the university had no medical officer since 2018, so they had to hire an external doctor for student and staff healthcare.

University officials said Dr. Menrige kept his municipal health duties and attended to the university’s healthcare needs by appointment after hours, according to Romblon News Network. 

They emphasized that he acted “in good faith” and was aware of existing policies. However, the COA countered that as an MHO, Dr. Menrige was required to provide full-time service daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

The COA recommended that RSU stop hiring Dr. Menrige and follow the law, suggesting  filling the vacant medical officer position to keep healthcare services running. The COA also advised RSU to recover the money paid to Dr. Menrige.